MUSIC

オブスキュアなダンスホールやレゲエの発掘に取り組む〈Death Is Not The End〉のサブライン〈333〉から新入荷。ジャマイカの伝説的サウンドシステムKillamanjaroのメンバーであり、U.U. Madooの名前でも知られるHugh Madooが、ブロンクスのレーベル〈Jamaazima〉から1987年にリリースしたアルバム『Pop Style』がアナログ再発。Winston WrightやBobby Ellis、Carlton "Santa" Davisといった豪華面々が参加！Byron Leeの〈Dynamics〉と〈Herman Chin-Loy〉の〈Aquarius〉スタジオで録音された崇高なヴォーカルを聴かせるダンスホールの秘宝盤。

We're turning up the gold again for Death Is Not The End sub-label 333, with this repro of the much in-demand Flames cut of Nairobi Sisters' Promised Land. Sampled by Q-Tip for "Whateva Will Be" (appearing on ATCQ's final long-player) and on a range of earlier 90s boom-bap era productions, it is not at all hard to figure out why it's a coveted record. That break is as low-slung and funky as it gets, and best showcased on the superbly stripped-back dub on the flip. The Nairobi Sisters were singers Terrie Nairobi and Judy Mowatt (later of the I-Threes, alongside Rita Marley & Marcia Griffiths). Promised Land was originally recorded together with The Gaytones for Sonia Pottinger's Gay Feet label, with this later version cut for Winston Jones' Brooklyn-based Flames Records. It is issued here under license from producer and songwriter Jones - the original singer and composer of Stop That Train (later made world-famous by Keith & Tex's version) with his Spanishtonians in the early 1960s - who later moved from JA to NYC where he established and ran the Flames label, a core imprint in Brooklyn's reggae scene, from the mid-1970s until the early 1990s. We've licensed a range of Flames-era productions from the now Texas-based Jones, so keep and eye out for more as it comes... but for now, jump on this before it's gone!

オブスキュアなダンスホールやレゲエの発掘に取り組む〈Death Is Not The End〉のサブライン〈333〉から要注目作品を漸く入荷。1982年にオリジナル・リリース。〈Jah Scorcher International Sound〉のDJ/サウンド システム オペレーターでもあり、〈Pennine Radio 235〉独立系ラジオ局でレゲエ ショーの共同司会者を務めていたRupie Danによる12インチ作品『My Black Race』が待望のアナログ再発。ロンドン、リバプール、バーミンガム、リーズなど、イングランド中のいくつかの都市で起こった1980年から1981年の社会/人種革命中の最中に生まれた歌詞のアイデアが詰まった一枚であり、この時代のUKルーツプロダクションで最もヘヴィなダブの一つをフィーチャーしたルーツ・レゲエ/ダブの知る人ぞ知るレアな傑作！

Horace Fergusonがレゲエ/ダンスホールの1980年代中期から後期にかけてのデジタル全盛期にリリースしたLP『Sensi Addict』が、オブスキュアなダンスホールやレゲエの発掘に取り組む〈Death Is Not The End〉のサブライン〈333〉より再発！故・Jazzboのプロデューサーによるプロデュース&アレンジ！1984年から1987年にかけてキングストンにあるMichael Carrollの〈Creative Sounds〉スタジオで録音されたヴォーカルのセレクションを、エンジニアのPaul Davidsonが録音した知る人ぞ知るデジタル・レゲエのカルト盤。若干サイケ風味でヘロヘロなヴォーカルとチープなマシングルーヴが絶品です！

The definition of the word 'fado' is technically 'fate', though the Portuguese meaning bound up with this term is more complex. The music itself can be fairly closely compared with that of Greek rebetika - also the American blues or the original working-class tango music of Argentina and Uruguay - and similarly takes it's common subject matter from the various cruel realities of the world. Though perhaps what distinguishes fado in character is it's often poised acceptance of the pains of life rather than protestation or resistance - as writer Paul Vernon says "It speaks with a quiet dignity born of the realisation that any mortal desire or plan is at risk of destruction by powers beyond individual control" Death Is Not The End compile here a spine-tingling collection of fado recordings, taken from records issued in the mid 1910s through to the 1930s. The fado's Lisbon and Coimbra variants are presented here by some of the music's earliest recorded stars - spanning a time period leading up to the emergence of the fado's all-conquering star, Amália Rodrigues.

Swiss bass player & composer Martina Berther (Ester Poly / AUL / Sophie Hunger / Hallow Ground) announces debut solo album ‘Bass Works: As I Venture Into’. Lush drones, elegiac soundscapes & alien music between improvisation & compositional rigour - RIYL Éliane Radigue, Mica Levi, Olivier Messiaen. An experimental collection of unique one-take compositions opening up strange, beautiful new worlds of solitude & wonder... --------------- 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 is the debut solo album by bassist Martina Berther. The Zurich-based artist has been exploring and expanding upon the sonic potentials of her instrument in her live practice for years. The twelve pieces draw on her improvisational approach, but were continuously refined as fully fleshed-out compositions that Berther recorded in one take, with no edits made or overdubs added afterwards. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 hence serves as a lively snapshot of an on-going explorative process, collecting these pieces in one place to give them a space in which to unfold. Starting with the lush drones of the opener '6Chords' to the crunchy rhythmic noise of 'Wool' and the almost elegiac closing track 'Mini Gong', the album sees Berther indeed venture into the untapped potentials of her instrument as well as into unknown territory herself: She travels through the strange limbo between the concrete and the abstract, the liveness of improvisation and compositional rigour, open-ended experimentation and a unique artistic vision. Berther is at home in many different musical words. Trained in jazz, she is a member of genre-bending bands such as Ester Poly and AUL, has worked as a live musician for Sophie Hunger and recently collaborated with Philipp Schlotter. Since 2017, she has been playing fully improvised live solo sets using pedals, preparations, and additional objects as well as unconventional playing techniques. "During rehearsals for the concerts and on stage, I discovered a plethora of new sounds", explains Berther. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 can be understood as an archive of this as much as it chronicles the artist’s development as an improviser and composer. Berther refers to the individual pieces as brief stories, with the track titles capturing the mood of the respective pieces or referring to the tools she used to construct sonic narratives out of previous improvisations. Having recorded roughly 90 minutes of material, she narrowed down the selection to twelve pieces that interlock to form a cohesive story arc. The main narrative of 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 is that of a bassist engaging with her instrument in novel ways while also redefining herself as a musician. "The bass is usually used in bands to lay a foundation and provide structure," explains Berther. "Over the past few years, I was surprised to discover how I sound when I free myself from conventions and compromises." The preliminary result of this (self-)discovery process is an album that both invites its listeners to venture into the unthought-of possibilities of the bass while also rewarding attentive deep listening with sonic richness and complexity. As a snapshot of Berther’s practice, it already hints at further progress.

Diane Birch emerges as a formidable American singer-songwriter and pianist, boasting a repertoire of critically lauded releases spanning a rich decade-long career. With an eclectic array of musical influences stemming from a globe-trotting childhood - ranging from her humble beginnings as a preacher’s daughter in Zimbabwe and South Africa to her transformative years as a gothic teen immersed in the vibrant cultural underbelly of Portland, Oregon. Her discovery while living in London via Myspace led to a record deal in New York, where she then spent the next few years. Diane's journey is as diverse as her sound. Her profound experiences have culminated in a unique musical blend, characterized by her stint performing soulful covers and original pieces in the swanky lounges of the Beverly Hills elite. Receiving widespread attention with her debut album “Bible Belt” and her follow-up projects “Speak A Little Louder” and “Nous”, these works not only cemented her position in the international music scene but also earned her accolades and respect from esteemed peers including Prince, Daryl Hall, Mark Ronson, Dave Stewart, Questlove, Elvis Costello, Bryan Ferry and Stevie Wonder. Returning with her latest work, “Flying On Abraham”, Diane presents a meticulously crafted collection of original compositions. This album is a heartfelt homage to her vast and varied musical roots, weaving together the rich tapestry of 70s AM radio, soul, jazz, classic rock, 80s/90s pop and R&B. Despite the eclectic mix, Diane's sound remains distinctly her own - her voice a blend of raw emotion and refined grace, echoing the legacy of iconic artists like Carole King, Carly Simon and Rickie Lee Jones, yet standing out with an authenticity and individuality that is unmistakably Diane Birch. Produced by renowned English musician Paul Stacey, known for his work with Noel Gallagher and the Black Crowes, “Flying On Abraham” was recorded in the UK, backed by an impressive lineup of musicians. This album is not just a collection of songs but a narrative of her artistic journey, offering a window into the soul of a woman who has traversed continents and musical genres to create something truly extraordinary. With “Flying On Abraham”, Diane Birch reaffirms her status as a musical virtuoso, continuing to enchant audiences worldwide with her evocative lyrics. It represents Diane's enduring vision of “making American music with an English sensibility.”

A Jazz Dance Favourite that Jazz Room Records Head Honcho Paul Murphy was hepped to by Brownswood and 6Music Jazz Supremo Gilles Peterson at the 20th Birthday Bash of London's most Underground of Clubs: Shiftless Shuffle. Murphy: "I'd quite forgotten all about it, but when I saw the reaction on the dancefloor it was "Mental Note Time, get on the case for a full investigation and let's see some Vinyl re-issue action!" The head of the original Danish Label, Pick Up Records, later reminded Paul that he was selling the originals in his original Jazz Record Shop "Fusion Records" when the original was released and that he, Peter Littauer, had actually delivered them personally on a trip to London. Synergy in action! The music is a mixture of 100mph Latin Jazz (Girl With Three Faces/747 To Rio/From Dusk Towards Dawn) and Funky Rhodes driven workouts (Travelling/Circles In The Air), plus the vocal pyrotechnics of Hawaiian singer Lei Aloha Moe who guested on two of the tracks.

Attention juiceheads, bozos, crazy chicks & krusty kreeps – it’s finger poppin’ time! Jump on our jaunty jalopy to join the journey from Dullsville to Coolsville, 18 sides of swingin’ jazz cat o’nine bebop bedoop! Cr-azzzee!

In 1975, Joyce Moreno, who had just wrapped up a tour with legendary Brazilian composer Vinicius de Moraes, found herself in a studio with producer Sergio Bardotti in Rome, Italy. She had been taking a break from writing and she decided to pick up a selection of her favorite compositions from contemporary Brazilian writers who‘s songs were beacons of hope in times of an ongoing intense Military leadership in her home country. Unlike their previous albums, these recordings live from their reductiveness and intimacy. For a long time, Passarinho Urbano was considered a secret masterpiece and was highly sought after by record collectors, now Week–End Records is glad to be making it available internationally on vinyl for the first time ever.

Tara Nome Doyle's latest EP »Agape« marks her return to the music scene after a two-year hiatus following the success of her acclaimed sophomore album »Værmin« (Modern Recordings, BMG, 2022). »Agape« is a profoundly intimate collection of songs documenting TND's emotional journey through grief, commemorating the passing of a loved one. Each track explores different facets of this emotional landscape, showcasing TND's otherworldly performances and unique approach to songwriting. This self-produced EP represents an artistic leap for the Norwegian-Irish songwriter. Skill-fully capturing the arresting beauty of her compositions, TNDs minimalistic arrangements feature the haunting melodies of Norwegian-Scottish cellist Sunniva Shaw of Tordarroch (known for her work with Fay Wildhagen, Liv Jakobsen and Juni Habel). The ethereal atmosphere they create together evokes a distinctly Scandinavian eeriness while TND's dedication to crafting poetic lyrics and vivid storytelling pays tribute to her Irish singer-songwriter roots. The EP's title »Agape« translates to unconditional, selfless love - a sentiment that permeates each of the six tracks. This timeless collection of songs aims to be a comforting and cathartic companion for anyone caught in the throes of grief.

Dettinger’s Intershop and Oasis have long been held, by many fans of ambient and electronic music, to be some of the finest albums in their field. Produced by the mysterious Olaf Dettinger, about whom not much is publicly known, they were some of the earliest full-lengths released by the then-nascent Kompakt, and in many ways, they both articulated and defined the sound that would come to be known as Pop Ambient, while also existing, somehow, to the leftfield of any clearly recognisable genre. Beautiful, sui generis works, it is a rare pleasure to see them being reissued on vinyl for a new generation of listeners to embrace. Originally released on CD only in 1999, Intershop was Kompakt’s first artist full-length. The music here simmers and broods, with opulent banks of tone marking out territory for rhythms that seem to be built from the clacking detritus of technology – hisses, thunks, knocks. Bass is deployed carefully, each drop a dubbed-out depth charge; drones spin and spiral, warping and weaving between the beats. Oasis, released in 2000, refined the palette that Dettinger had explored on its predecessor. A blurred crusade of ambient texturology, its unassuming patterns, and subtle, incremental dynamics, admit to real beauty, and a kind of abstract sensuality that you don’t often experience with music that is, perhaps, similarly tooled, but not as poetic. Through seemingly simple gestures – whether lushly expansive repetitions, hyper-acute tremolo tones, or ear-tickling rhythms – it builds complex emotional resonance. It’s no surprise to discover Oasis is held in high esteem by artists like Panda Bear of Animal Collective, who once said of Dettinger, “For us, he was the dude.” There is, of course, other music to know Dettinger by, too – his three excellent EPs for Kompakt, Blond (1998), Puma and Totentanz (1999), the latter of which, Michael Mayer once argued, “invented dubstep.” There is also a small, yet graceful run of compilation contributions, many of which can be found on Kompakt’s Total and Pop Ambient series. All this music has plenty to recommend it, sharing a clarity of purpose, and a rare, human warmth and depth. But Intershop and Oasis are the releases that distil Dettinger’s singular vision, and allow him, should he wish, to claim his place as a modern master of ambient and electronic music.

Dettinger’s Intershop and Oasis have long been held, by many fans of ambient and electronic music, to be some of the finest albums in their field. Produced by the mysterious Olaf Dettinger, about whom not much is publicly known, they were some of the earliest full-lengths released by the then-nascent Kompakt, and in many ways, they both articulated and defined the sound that would come to be known as Pop Ambient, while also existing, somehow, to the leftfield of any clearly recognisable genre. Beautiful, sui generis works, it is a rare pleasure to see them being reissued on vinyl for a new generation of listeners to embrace. Originally released on CD only in 1999, Intershop was Kompakt’s first artist full-length. The music here simmers and broods, with opulent banks of tone marking out territory for rhythms that seem to be built from the clacking detritus of technology – hisses, thunks, knocks. Bass is deployed carefully, each drop a dubbed-out depth charge; drones spin and spiral, warping and weaving between the beats. Oasis, released in 2000, refined the palette that Dettinger had explored on its predecessor. A blurred crusade of ambient texturology, its unassuming patterns, and subtle, incremental dynamics, admit to real beauty, and a kind of abstract sensuality that you don’t often experience with music that is, perhaps, similarly tooled, but not as poetic. Through seemingly simple gestures – whether lushly expansive repetitions, hyper-acute tremolo tones, or ear-tickling rhythms – it builds complex emotional resonance. It’s no surprise to discover Oasis is held in high esteem by artists like Panda Bear of Animal Collective, who once said of Dettinger, “For us, he was the dude.” There is, of course, other music to know Dettinger by, too – his three excellent EPs for Kompakt, Blond (1998), Puma and Totentanz (1999), the latter of which, Michael Mayer once argued, “invented dubstep.” There is also a small, yet graceful run of compilation contributions, many of which can be found on Kompakt’s Total and Pop Ambient series. All this music has plenty to recommend it, sharing a clarity of purpose, and a rare, human warmth and depth. But Intershop and Oasis are the releases that distil Dettinger’s singular vision, and allow him, should he wish, to claim his place as a modern master of ambient and electronic music.

200 copies limited edition* In 2022, Gillies Adamson Semple made a pilgrimage to the Valère Basilica in the Swiss Alps to play the oldest functioning pipe organ in the world. Built in 1435, this unique instrument is the centrepiece of this sensitive and stirring 6-track release, tracing the elemental themes of spirituality, anatomy, ecological collapse, and the nature of listening in its glacial minimalist drones. Drawing inspiration from the long-form compositions of Sarah Davachi and Kali Malone, Volumes was built from in-situ recordings Semple made in Switzerland, with the aim of capturing the physical qualities of the sound, from the stops and pedals to the air rushing through the organ’s ancient pipes. Treated like sculptural material and re-assembled at Semple’s London studio in the tradition of musique concrète, the tracks evoke a sense of exquisite timelessness, at once part of and floating free of their environment. As Semple explains: “What I like about the organ is that you can make it feel very physical. It has all these mechanical parts that sound really beautiful. And the piece is never performed. It is something that is rooted in the site. The whole pilgrimage to see this organ in Switzerland ended up acting like that, where you’re going to this very sacred place to see this specific instrument, but all you’re taking back is recording.” Released on vinyl via Fourth Sounds, Volumes was initially conceived as the soundtrack to Semple’s 2023 exhibition of the same name at Cedric Bardawil in London.

Espontaneamente se Tenta: Aventuras Sonoras de Djalma Corrêa is an album of deeply exploratory pieces by legendary percussionist and composer Djalma Corrêa. This double-LP set features previously unreleased recordings that cover a wide range of sonic experiments, revealing an unknown side of the prolific and groundbreaking Brazilian artist. Most of the tracks on this album were digitized for the first time – directly from the original tapes – and were compiled in collaboration with Corrêa just before he passed. The result is a wild and unsettling collage that shows us just how original and intense Corrêa could be: from the unorthodox electroacoustic piece Evolução (Para Fita e Filme), which channels ancestral African inspirations to create a sonic cosmogonical narrative, to the proto-mixtape Exemplo de Sintetizadores, in which he transitions from transcendental drones to astral cha-cha-chas. While the compilation might seem disjointed at first listen, it is in fact the most accurate translation or representation of his central concept: spontaneous music. Djalma's relationship with sound was always guided by his fearless approach to listening, and by his audacious and dynamic interaction with both musicians and equipment, which enabled him to work across a wide array of genres: from jazz to completely abstract music, always through a personal DIY ethic. Corrêa developed a strong bond with experimentalist and inventor Walter Smetak, with whom he shared a studio during his formative years at Universidade Federal da Bahia. Suite Contagotas, featured in this collection, is no less than a sonic materialization of that bond: an experiment revolving around dripping water and its randomness – a tentative exploration of the ideas and possibilities envisioned by Smetak for his audacious, albeit unrealized, Estúdio OVO. Djalma, however, is best known for his studio work in historical albums, including many by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben, and for his own polyrhythmic opus Baiafro. The last track is an early recording called Bossa 2000 dC, first performed by Djalma at the 1964 Nós, Por Exemplo concert, an event which is often cited as marking the beginning of the Tropicalia movement. At the time, he was the only artist in the lineup using electronic devices to create sounds, e.g. medical oscillators and contact mics to augment his percussive palette. The artwork is an amalgamation of material found in the Djalma Corrêa Archive (currently managed by his son Caetano Corrêa) and other material created during the period in which the record was being put together. The intention is to guide the listeners through this possibly tempestuous soundscape, giving them additional resources so that they may draw their own meanings and make their own sense of this extremely immersive and original experience – which is like nothing we've ever heard before.

The winding flight path of Torn Hawk lands at “Trustfall”, a hilarious and poignant spoken work of rewarding density. It’s almost 34 minutes of Luke talking— talking over, against, and to himself, with sporadic, slyly deployed SFX and quotes of his own music, using a childhood memory as a generative node for a funny and emotional tale of transformation. Luke Wyatt/Torn Hawk has been pushing more into speech-focused work in the last few years, using his NTS residency as an R&D space. His 2022 album “Toxic Sincerity” featured speech pieces of newly raw intimacy, and a cassette for Cav Empt saw a longer-form exploration of these efforts. Honed from a 2023 performance at NYC’s Issue Project Room, “Trustfall” is where all this talk has been heading. It’s branching allusions— to the ’86 Mets, WIlliam Rehnquist, Boy Scout regalia and behavioral weirdness, etc etc— take us on a wild but strangely cohesive, funny-sad path, which finally points at the deeply neccessary and spiritual utility of self-expression.

Khôra is the medium Matthew Ramolo uses to delve deeply into initiatory world-building by way of sound, image, and lyrical prose. Figuring wholly realized art-myths which distill and rouse the numinous while provoking the visceral and cathartic, Khôra intricately collages studio documents of ritualized instrumental performances, introducing overdubs by transient, heteronymic personae which dismantle stable points of reference in the music and open uncommon planes of consciousness. "Gestures of Perception" is Khôra’s first double album with a supporting artbook and features a fascinating array of sources subjected to patterned assembly, poetic layering, and the elevations of the heart. Deft handling of modular synthesis is palpably central, while feedback, erhu, keys, flute, contact electronics, guitar, field sounds, and various percussion objects (rattle and frame drums, seed pod sticks, random metal objects, meditation bowls, kalimbas, bells) all serve to provide breathing structures and energetic contours that guide and scaffold inner and outer journeys into the far-near. Prominent across the record's span is a home-built, solenoid drum machine, responsible for the alive and askew techno-archaic flows and conceived as the album’s "rhythm seed”. The music on Gestures is teeming with organic and alien textures, soaring drones, inter-dimensional noises, and emotionally resonant melodies; balanced on the fringes of exotica and meditative trance, with capacities that untether the listener from the ballast of limited reality. Operating hermetically in the penumbra of Toronto's cultural scene for well over a decade, Khôra has been invested in self-publishing handcrafted editions of spiritually driven recordings which led to the LP/CD reissue of inaugural album "Silent Your Body Is Endless" by Constellation. Khôra has toured extensively in North America and Europe both solo and in collaboration with Picastro, Nick Kuepfer (Hrsta,1/4 Tonne), and Brandon Valdivia (Mas Aya, Lido Pimienta), generated over a hundred hours of unreleased, bewildering drone through durational performance with experimental outfit Nidus (Marc Couroux, Jason Doell), composed for live dance and independent film, been commissioned by MaerzMusik, and seeded and co-run the now defunct music and art venue Ratio in Toronto. Gestures of Perception will be released on April 19 digitally and as a double vinyl featuring a limited edition 48-page work of researched, poetic mythography rich with galvanizing text and images that shed light on some of the mandalic imaginings and esoteric threads informing Ramolo's inner worlds as Khôra. Made with struggle and love in close collaboration with Marionette.

"Long sought-after by those in know, this essential Irish jazz album finally gets a vinyl reissue on Outernational Sounds! Fully licensed from producer John D’Ardis, remastered at Abbey Road from the original tapes, and with lacquers cut at Dubplates and Mastering, the Noel Kelehan Quintet’s stunning 1979 Ozone is presented with unseen photographs of the band and commentary from original band members. Featuring moody, modal jazz of the first order, subtle and original composing and world- class playing, Ozone was the creation of Ireland’s most respected jazz composer and musician, pianist Noel Kelehan (1935-2012). The only small-group album under his name, and arguably the first ever Irish jazz LP, Ozone was a landmark recording, but it was far from Kelehan’s only achievement. Born in Dublin, Kelehan had studied music from an early age. From the mid-1950s he worked at state-broadcaster Radio Éireann (RÉ, later RTÉ – Radio Telefis Éireann), and from the early 1960s he fronted Dublin’s first be-bop unit, the Jazz Heralds. A busy professional career saw him compose for numerous Irish pop stars, arrange and conduct many of Ireland’s Eurovision entries, and even contribute string arrangements to U2’s Unforgettable Fire LP. But jazz was Kelehan’s first passion, and he never stopped playing in both small modernist units and composing for his own big band. The late 1970s saw him fronting the Noel Kelehan Quintet, alongside drummer John Wadham, saxophonist Keith Donald, bassist Frank Hess and trumpeter Mick Nolan. Playing weekly in Dublin for several years, they opened for visiting stars including Dollar Brand and the Ronnie Scott Orchestra, and eventually played a two-week residency at Ronnie Scotts in London. Though Kelehan had recorded a big-band LP of traditional Irish songs arranged as easy jazz in 1970, Ozone was his first album of modern jazz. Released on John D’Ardis’s independent Cargo imprint and press on blue vinyl, it featured original compositions such as the deep collectors cut ‘Spon Song’, subtle Latin flavours on ‘Spacer’s Delight’ and a beautiful modal arrangement of the traditional Irish air ‘Castle of Dromore’. A legendary recording in Ireland, Ozone reflected Kelehan’s keen appreciation of classic quintet-era Miles, with touches of the cerebral fusion of Ian Carr and the arranging genius of Neil Ardley. Not just a landmark Irish jazz set, Ozone is a lost classic of European jazz more widely."

First reissue of this ultra-rare reggae album originally released in 1974. Considered by many to be the first reggae "lovers" album ever, conceived by producer Clement Bushay and reggae singer Carl Bert. Featuring: The Cimarons, Jackie Parris, Junior English, Dego Sensation. Engineers: Steve Wadey, Clem Bushay and Lee Perry ... Four unreleased tracks from the original versions are included here!youtube.com/embed/j1k16oGhejc?si=ROZTPIhDdaLF1S5X" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen>

Reissued for the first time Maximum Joy fourth 12", led by their amazing Timmy Thomas rendition and originally released on Garage Records in 1983. Includes an unreleased and restored version of the title track plus three extra live tracks recorded in Germany in 1982.

RSD 2024 indie exclusive. Official RSD UK Release. Reissued for the very first time on vinyl Wadada Magic, Suns Of Arqa's majestic second album. The wicked world of Michael Wadada is well represented here: an ever-changing kaleidoscope of tribal dub, early electronics, proto-wave and global beat. Special guests on vocals include Prince Far I and Prince Hammer, while on bass the true genius of Lizard from Creation Rebel/Singer & Players.

Hiroshima-based artist Meitei announces the reissue of Kwaidan on the 5th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut album. A collaboration between 2 labels – KITCHEN. LABEL (Kofū I & II) and Evening Chants (Kwaidan), the reissue sees the highly anticipated special 5th Anniversary Edition of Kwaidan with two previously unreleased bonus tracks. This will be released on long-out-of-print vinyl format in a new color variant, with an 8-panel insert and the first-ever CD version.

In 2018, Meitei shook the ambient world with the release of his debut album Kwaidan, a transposition of Japanese folklore into intricate compositions, capturing what he would coin as the “lost Japanese mood”. The album almost instantly received critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, where it was included in their Best Experimental Albums of 2018, Bandcamp, calling it “different from some of the ambient music that has been coming from Japan in recent years”, The Wire and more.

Kwaidan (怪談) is a style of Japanese ghost stories. Meitei took it as a challenge of his skill as a musician to transpose the folklore into intricate compositions, capturing this lost “Japanese mood”. “The shocking elements in the horror have become a staple. It functions as entertainment. But I felt the mood and ambiance from Kwaidan is starting to wither – while the darkness is scary, the beauty is in the curious spirit,” explains Meitei.

Koizumi Yakumo is an important figure in the Japanese literary world, known for his legends and ghost stories. He left the world, leaving a masterpiece called Kwaidan, heavily inspiring Meitei’s album direction. Sazanami, Curio, Shoji and Mushiro are seen as a nod and tribute to his work. Other influences include manga author Mizuki Shigeru, who drove the sound for Touba and Jizo, intended to be a homage soundtrack for his manga Gegege no Kitarō. As an old-fashioned man, Meitei also draws from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. With this very eclectic mix of influences, the album Kwaidan possesses a prominent horror element, comedy, sentimentality and sorrow. He compares the ambiance as one would visually with wet moss, shrouded in mist.

“Music is an important human communication tool. Expressing a mood that is almost impossible to translate into language perfectly is interesting.” While most of the above might stem from influential Japanese art, Meitei was also attracted to the new wave of lo-fi hip hop, which he tried to weave into his music subtly. Something as easy as the wrong placement of a kick and snare on a track can divert the track away from the Kwaidan mood. Yet, Meitei found a delicate balance, resulting in a gorgeously crafted album.


Meitei releases Kwaidan 5th Anniversary Edition on 21 July 2023 via KITCHEN. LABEL and Evening Chants. Available on 180g smoke haze variant LP, CD and digital formats (LP arriving in Q3, 2023), This record is mastered by Taylor Deupree at 12k Mastering in New York. 

A key document of the late 70s experimental music scene in Kansai, Japan, R.N.A. Organism’s sole LP “R.N.A.O Meets P.O.P.O”, released by legendary Osaka label Vanity Records in 1980, was a hallucinatory trip of dubby bass, churning guitars, sputtering rhythm boxes, chattering vocals and unidentifiable sound effects. But it turns out that producer Kaoru Sato (later of EP-4) and the band had initially submitted an even more tweaked out set of mixes to the label which were largely rejected for being too extreme. As luck would have it, those original mixes were archived on (recently unearthed) cassettes and are now available for the first time, 40-plus years after they were recorded, on the 2LP set “Unaffected Mixes plus."

Lamin Fofana has been killing it over the past few years with ace records on Hundebiss, Avian, Peak Oil and The Trilogy Tapes to name but a few. Here he unites with The Doudou Ndiaye Rose Family (check their Twenty​-​One Sabar Rhythms), respectfully and sensitively applying his electronic magic to the mesmerizing mbalax drumming, taking things even further into cosmic realms - somewhere between Mark Ernestus Ndagga project, T++, Jon Hassell and Popol Vuh.